China’s competitive computer chip bill passed by the Senate, moved to the House of Representatives
President Joe Biden listens as U.S. Communications Officer President Christopher Shelton speaks during a virtual meeting on the Create Useful Incentives for Semiconductor Manufacturing (CHIPS) Act for the United States, at the Auditorium of the Southern Court at the White House on July 25, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | beautiful pictures
The Senate on Wednesday passed bipartisan legislation aimed at helping the United States compete with China by injecting tens of billions of dollars into domestic semiconductor chip production.
Invoice, called CHIPS-plus or Chips and Science Action, passed in a 64-33 vote. It will now head to the House, where lawmakers hope to pass it and send it to the White House for the President. Joe BidenParliament’s signature before Parliament leaves town in early August.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the chip bill “is a huge win for American families and the American economy” as it passes a pivotal Senate vote. early july.
The package includes more than $52 billion for American companies that make computer chips, as well as tax credits to encourage investment in chip manufacturing. It also provides funding to promote innovation and the development of other U.S. technologies.
Proponents say it’s important for the US economy and national security to make more chips, which are increasingly important components in everyday household items like consumer electronics and consumer electronics. automobiles because technological innovation makes machines smarter.
However, these chips have been in short supply recently, following a sudden shift in consumer demand related to the Covid-19 pandemic. And America’s share of global chip production has plummeted in recent decades, while China and other countries have invested heavily in the industry.
The US also produces the fewest types of advanced semiconductors, most of which are made in Taiwan, the epicenter of rising political tensions with China.
Much of modern warfare is powered by vast arrays of semiconductors – each Javelin rocket launcher contains hundreds offor example – causing US defense officials to worry about the country’s reliance on foreign manufacturers for chips.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday during a meeting with Biden that the US national security adviser’s continued reliance on semiconductors abroad is “dangerous.
“The longer we wait, the more dangerous the disruption,” he said.
The president, in that meeting, also blamed a chip shortage for the high inflation that had occurred during his presidency. The lack of chips available for the production of new cars is related to Used car prices soaris driving inflation higher.
“America invented the semiconductor. It’s time to bring it home,” Biden said.
In a statement following Wednesday’s vote, Biden touted CHIPS-plus as “a historic bill that will reduce costs and create jobs.” It will also lead to “more flexible American supply chains, so we can never depend on foreign countries for the critical technologies we need for American consumers and national security,” Biden said. speak.
CHIPS-plus is an abridged version of the broader legislation that has long existed in the House and Senate. Bigger measures have arrived under threat from Republican leadership in the first day of this month. Thinner bill wiped out the Senate Filter threshold of 60 votes on Tuesday, set up a final vote, requiring only a simple majority in the 100-seat chamber.
The legislation has drawn criticism from some Republicans in the Senate, such as Marco Rubio of Florida, who say it lacks a “handrail” to prevent any funding from flowing into China’s hands. Country. Other critics say the US will have to spend billions more to have a real chance of competing with the world’s top chipmakers.
Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Also Debuts in the first day of this month against an earlier version of the bill, calling it “a white check of $53 billion for profitable chip and semiconductor companies.”
“Let us rebuild America’s microchip industry,” Sanders said ahead of Wednesday’s vote, “but let’s do it in a way that benefits our entire society, no. only for a few wealthy corporations to be profitable.”
But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., argued Wednesday morning that the legislation would mark “a watershed moment for American leadership in the 21st Century.”
Schumer said on the Senate floor before the final vote: “By approving one of the largest investments in science, technology and manufacturing in decades … we say good years. America’s most beautiful has yet to come.
